slips are chances to learn. you figure out what stresses are still too hard for you and you can work on how you'll deal with them next time you run into
them. so instead of beating yourself up, take action.
- have you taken care of your physical wounds? if not, go do that now. we'll wait.
Yes - what had happened just before?
My alarm clock that I'v eonly had for 1 1/2 weeks fell apart. - what were you thinking and feeling?
I was feeling very stressed cause of my living situation, and thinking about how it's too difficult living on my own. - why did you end up hurting yourself then instead of some other time? was there an event that was the final straw? what was it?
I didn't end up hurting myself "now instead of another time", cause I slipped yesterday too. It's always little things like this that trigger a slip. - how did the situation get to the final straw stage? trace it back through the events that led up to the last event. look for some point at which you
could have made a different decision and not arrived at the final straw.
I had been feeling very stressed since yesterday. Called G. (support person whom I should call when I'm in distress) twice yesterday. Now I showered this morning (the slip happened this morning) which usually calms me down but didn't this time, apparently. I'm not sure why I slipped. - were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
I have poor sleep lately indeed, but don't know how to address it since I do go to bed on time. Also, didn't follow my schedule strictly , so maybe I should do that. - what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work?
I tried showering, didn't work. - in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
Maybe follow schedule more strictly. And throw pillows might work. - name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again.
Don't know. - how do you feel about the situation that led to self-harm now? is it resolved? if not, what are some steps you might take toward resolution?
The alarm clock thing is not really resolved yet, but it's workable now. The stress about the living situation, I talked to G. and A. (one of my main support workers) today and resolved some things about the situation. For one thing, now G. will call me in the evenigns so I won't need ot wait till I'm distressed to call her, and I will need to do a daily evaluation and E-mail it to G., to determine what things are troubling me.
- are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
I will not likely have my alarm clock fall apart agian, but I will have the stress from living here. I usually recognize this emotional state when I'm feeling either empty or very tense.
- what will you try before you resort to self-harm if you're in that situation again? list three specific things you will commit to trying.
Shower, throw pillows, call G. if needed